Featured Course: The American West

The American West is an interdisciplinary undergraduate course taught by a distinguished group of five scholars from different departments and two different schools. It integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges.

Capital or Community: Housing Inequality in the Bay Area

100A

Subject:

URBANST

How has housing policy played a role in the marginalization of various groups in the United States? Are there concrete ways of addressing the current housing crisis in the Bay Area? How are individuals such as Stanford students affected by housing, and how do they impact it? This one unit course aims to explore ideas about housing inequality as they intersect with marginalized groups in the Bay Area, including immigrants and people of color. We will begin the class by looking at the history of urban planning and housing policy in various cities to look at how housing issues have played a role in the nature of marginalized groups, and how that affects these groups to this day. We¿ll explore major cities such as New York and Chicago before examining the history of San Francisco. We¿ll later focus on current housing inequality issues in the Bay Area and a look at what community organizations have done to address these issues. By the end of this course, students will have an understanding of the intersections that come with housing rights issues, especially as it relates to the Bay Area. The course is open to all students from all backgrounds and interests. Students do not need to have any kind of particular disciplinary training or specific knowledge about housing or the social landscape of different marginalized groups in order to partake in the class and the trip.